Preliminary community meetings for input to the Comp Plan update are underway and citizens are offering some excellent insights and recommendations about quality of life in Hanover County. How might some of the chafe points with Hanover citizens be alleviated or avoided as we move forward? How might some good emergent ideas be encouraged?

We reached out to Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth in the DC region and also a board member of CHF’s Richmond-region partner organization, Partnership for Smarter Growth. A 20-year veteran of comprehensive planning and growth discussions, Stewart offered the following ideas.

Comprehensive plan language, illustrations and maps:

1) Identify all publicly owned land and ensure it is strategically allocated for school and park space.

2) Include language that describes the amount of public park space the county seeks within walking distance of each community and incentives for private developers to set aside that public space within their developments.

3) Clearly define what “open space” means within a development. Is land allocated to stormwater ponds and median strips “open space?” As an alternative, why not more specific language that summons people-friendly images, such as “natural park”, “urban plaza” or “playground”?

4) Include maps that clearly show strong stream protection buffers, approximate locations of public parks, and a transportation plan map that shows a requirement for connected local streets, not just large arterials.

Public workshops for the 2017 Comprehensive Plan update have been scheduled. Four community meetings will take place at schools across the county.

Now is the time for citizens to express their hopes, wishes, suggestions and concerns regarding a vision for Hanover’s growth. Speak from your experience in your immediate neighborhood to your area of the county to the entire county. What is worth preserving? What could be improved? How can we realize that vision?

The Citizen Engagement Committee made a number of recommendations in its final report. Those recommendations were appended to the May 24 presentation by the Planning Department to the joint meeting of Supervisors, Planning Commissioners and Economic Development staff. Read here:

The Planning Department has a dedicated page for the 2017 Comp Plan update on the county’s website. Navigate to get to all of the above information, to view videos of meetings and to contact the Planning office:

At its April 12, 2017 meeting, the Hanover County Board of Supervisors authorized the creation of a Comprehensive Plan Citizen Engagement Advisory Committee “to assist with the development of a public input process to gather representative perspectives of Hanover residents and businesses countywide related to the comprehensive plan update.” (See the agenda item here: http://hanovercounty.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=8&clip_id=271&meta_id=24722)

Hanover County’s Comprehensive Plan is the guideline for future rezoning, growth, economic development, green infrastructure, public facilities and more. The committee was formed in April and May 2017. One citizen from each magisterial district was appointed as well as three additional members representing the business community and civic organizations. The members were:

The answer is “no” for some places in the higher density suburban service area of the county. Balancing growth, road needs and paltry transportation funding is a monstrous challenge. Some county residents and officials weigh in on the topic in an article by Michael O’Connor in the July 2 Times-Dispatch. Click to read:

Barnyard Enterprises, LLC has applied for a rezoning of the Luck property west of Ashland along Rte 54 (West Patrick Henry Road). The applicant seeks a rural conservation (RC) zoning for approximately 260 acres. A RC mandates that 70% of the developable acreage (acreage not in the Chesapeake Bay Resource Protection Areas) be placed in a conservation easement.

A Comprehensive Plan amendment must also be approved to make the land use map compatible with the request.

In a community meeting at Patrick Henry High School October 7, 25 citizens turned out to hear the plan and to ask questions.

The design by R-CI builders shows 42 homes, priced in the $450,000-650,000 range, sized 2500-3500 square feet and served by well and septic.

The development is expected to produce approximately 400+ vehicles trips per day. Because the trips are fewer than 500 daily, a VDOT traffic study is not warranted.Traffic volume is a concern since this stretch of West Patrick Henry Road will eventually see a planned unit development in the Town of Ashland at the Chapman Road intersection. Falling Creek Estates, toward the Blanton Road intersection, is already in place.

Additionally, it is unknown how many students may be added to the numbers already driving to and from Patrick Henry High School as well as to school enrollment overall. A Planning Department official said that the widening of Rte 54 is envisioned for the future, but there is no money at this time for such a roads project.

The cases, C-19-15 (RC) and CPA-2-15 (Comprehensive Plan Amendment) are tentatively slated for a Planning Commission public hearing on November 19. The tentative Board of Supervisors hearing is December 9.